Grandes Études de Paganini

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Description +
- Franz Liszt’s etude set “Grandes Études de Paganini” (S. 141) sits at the core of the virtuosic Romantic piano repertoire and has been popular with pianists and audiences worldwide for well over a century. Notorious for their extreme technical challenges on the piano, it may not seem plausible that they could be adapted for marimba solo; however, with just a bit of reduction, arranging, and many creative applications of modern four-mallet techniques, it is in fact possible to come very close to the original material in terms of musical expression, voice-leading, and overall “texture.”
  
  The second etude of the set works particularly well on the marimba: the lightning-fast scalar runs can achieve their proper “flair” and speed by way of small-interval double-lateral strokes; larger chords can be taken with the one-hand arpeggio technique; chromatic sixth runs, it turns out, work extremely well with the right sticking configurations; and octave passages just inherently “click” on the marimba.
  
  The final result is a highly challenging but rewarding concert etude that will serve the seasoned marimbist well for recitals and competitions alike.
  
  Anders Elten
Instrumentation +
- Marimba (5-octave)
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About the composer +
- Franz Liszt (22 October 1811 – 31 July 1886) was a Hungarian composer, virtuoso pianist, conductor, and teacher of the Romantic period. With a diverse body of work spanning more than six decades, he is considered to be one of the most prolific and influential composers of his era and remains one of the most popular composers in modern concert piano repertoire.
  
  ___________
  
  Anders Elten is a Danish percussionist and educator specializing primarily in the marimba. Since his early music studies, he has devoted himself to exploring and furthering the art of marimba playing.
  
  In 2010, he enrolled in the percussion class at The Royal Danish Academy of Music, Copenhagen, where he studied under the guidance of professor Gert Mortensen and Johan Bridger, graduating from the Soloist Class in 2019. During his time at the academy, he was the recipient of numerous awards and grants, including First Prize in the internal soloist competition, the internal ensemble competition as well as the annual concerto competition.
  
  He has received the Third Prize and the Keiko Abe Honorary Award at the Universal Marimba Competition in Belgium, the Grand Prize in the ENKOR Music Competition, the Sonning Talent Prize, the Gladsaxe Music Prize as well as the prestigious Danish Radio P2 Talent Prize. He has also received the Aennchen and Eigil Harbys Foundation scholarship.
  
  Anders Elten currently holds the position of marimba teacher at The Royal Danish Academy of Music as well as at The University of Stavanger, Faculty of Performing Arts. He is also a regular guest teacher at Theodor Milkov's International Marimba Summer Camp (MIMSC).
  
  Aside from teaching and performing, he also enjoys working with composers to expand the repertoire for the modern marimbist. He has premiered solo works by composers such as Benjamin de Murashkin and Jeppe Ernst, and in 2019 he premiered the first movement of Danish composer Daniel Fladmose's marimba concerto with Aalborg Symphony Orchestra.
  
  In 2021, he and his longstanding duo partner Mathias Reumert commissioned and premiered a new work for percussion duo titled “ARGUMENTA”, written by the renowned French composer Philippe Manoury. The duo released their first album, also titled "ARGUMENTA", in 2023, containing several works by Philippe Manoury and a new transscription of Maurice Ravel's "Le Tombeau de Couperin". The album is released on the Danish label "EkkoZone".
Credits +
- Front Cover Graphics and Layout: Nicola Lee
  Photo: Thomas Rockall Muus
  Printed in Copenhagen, Denmark
  Copyright © Edition SVITZER

Grandes Études de Paganini

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